Digital camera modules are currently being incorporated into a variety of host devices such as, for example, cellular telephones, personal data assistants (PDAs), computers, etc. Such host devices are becoming increasingly more compact and, therefore, permitting less and less space for camera module form factors. Accordingly, host device manufacturers prefer digital camera modules to be small, so that they can be incorporated into the host device without increasing the overall size of the host device. Of course, host device manufacturers also prefer camera modules that capture images of the highest possible quality. Therefore, the goal in designing and manufacturing camera modules is to minimize size, maximize performance (i.e. image quality, and simplify the overall manufacturing process.
It is against this background that the camera module disclosed herein has been developed.